delicacy

14 Stories

Scientists Urge French to Cut Down on Frog Legs

French taste for the delicacy was called out by 557 experts as overconsumption

(Newser) - Hundreds of concerned scientists are asking French President Emmanuel Macron to put the brakes on a very French custom: eating frog legs. The open letter , signed by 557 research, veterinary, and conservation professionals, notes that the European Union isn't exactly practicing what it preaches in how native frogs are...

Meet Taipei's Newest 'Dream Ingredient'

This 14-legged giant isopod atop ramen noodles has spurred a waiting list at Taiwan eatery

(Newser) - "Would you eat this?" is the question posed by the South China Morning Post on a new delicacy making headlines out of Taipei. But while Americans may feel squeamish at the prospect of scarfing down on what The Ramen Boy calls its "dream ingredient," locals are clamoring...

You Won't Believe How Long Folks Will Wait for This Delicacy

Place your order now, get the Kobe beef delicacies in 2052

(Newser) - If you're looking to hold a party in 2052 and would like to serve what the Mirror says are "arguably the most famous croquettes in the world," you'd better order now. That's because there's a 30-year-plus waiting list for the "Extreme" Kobe beef...

Purists Are Losing It Over US Version of Spanish Delicacy

It's 'not the same thing at all,' says ham expert in Spain

(Newser) - Like acorn-fed Iberian ham? Well, now you can try US versions of the Spanish delicacy—a development that culinary purists are none too thrilled about, the Guardian reports. "The real problem is that we are a nation of idiots who have given away our heritage that our governments have...

In This Nation, 'Murder Hornets' Used in Snacks, Drinks, Decor

But don't try what they do in Japan here in the US, scientists warn

(Newser) - Asian giant hornets (aka "murder hornets") may now be scaring people in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, but while they're just as aggressive and dangerous in Japan, people there don't simply fear them: They eat them. The New York Times notes that Japanese gourmands appreciate the...

New York City Is Banning a 'Cruel' Delicacy

Foie gras ban will take effect in 2022

(Newser) - New York City lawmakers have passed a bill that bans restaurants and grocery stores from selling foie gras, the fattened liver of a duck or goose. The bill, which is expected to be signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, would ban the sale of the delicacy starting in 2022. Animal...

New Delicacy in Vietnam: Free-Range ... Rats

Cambodia is exporting quite a few of them

(Newser) - A popular new delicacy in Vietnam's isn't what you'd expect, or want to imagine: It's rats. But don't worry, eaters aren't munching on scabies-infected urban vermin, but rather the free-range, rural rats of Cambodia's rice fields, which eat a largely organic diet, rat-catchers...

The Tuna on Your Plate May Be Endangered

(Newser) - You might suspect a sushi restaurant that doesn’t specify what sort of tuna you’re eating of trying to pawn off an inferior species. Not so. Researchers using novel DNA barcoding technology found that though nearly a third of tuna sold in 31 US restaurants was the prized—and...

Blowfish Testicles Poison 7 Diners in Japan

Chef served dangerous dish without license, cops say

(Newser) - World travelers, take note. Blowfish testicles prepared by an unauthorized chef have sickened seven diners in northern Japan, three of whom remain hospitalized. The owner of the Tsuruoka restaurant had no license to serve blowfish and was being questioned on suspicion of professional negligence. Blowfish poison, called tetrodotoxin, is nearly...

Wagyu: 'the Hummer of Beef'
 Wagyu: 'the Hummer of Beef'
GLOSSIES

Wagyu: 'the Hummer of Beef'

Esquire taste tests extravagant $130-per-pound meat

(Newser) - Wagyu beef, a Japanese tradition catching on in the US, uses cows “bred so that fat corrupts the striations of every muscle,” Tom Junod writes in Esquire. After sampling some at $130 per pound, Junod ponders how Americans can be attracted to such excess. Despite America's ecological awakening,...

Dear Lobster, I Hardly Knew Ye
 Dear Lobster,
 I Hardly Knew Ye 
opinion

Dear Lobster, I Hardly Knew Ye

A conscience-clearing letter to the author's slain-in-the-name-of-succulence dinner

(Newser) - Francis Lam eases his guilt about chowing down on a certain tasty crustacean by creating an unlikely enemy on his dinner plate, writing an open-ended letter to “Lobster” in Gourmet. He's not sorry for chowing down, "for your meat was like butter and nuts," but his conscience...

At Testicle Fest, Visitors Go Nuts

Utah event showcases beer-battered Rocky Mountain Oysters

(Newser) - Attendees were urged to “have a ball” this weekend at the annual Testicle Festival in southwestern Wyoming, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The two-day event raises $30,000 for charity as it salutes cowboy traditions, offering guests the chance to munch on “Rocky Mountain Oysters”—known in...

Japanese Fight Over Detoxed Delicacy

Fugu liver can now be safe, but traditionalists don't want it served

(Newser) - One of Japan's prized delicacies is having an identity crisis: fugu, the pricey puffer fish that's poisonous unless prepared correctly, now has a farmed cousin that's harmless, the New York Times reports. But gourmands looking forward to eating fugu liver—the most delicious and potentially deadly part of the fish—...

$600 Coffee 'Processed' by Civets
$600 Coffee 'Processed'
by Civets

$600 Coffee 'Processed' by Civets

Java-lovers' treat plucked from droppings of animals who gorge on beans

(Newser) - Move over, Starbucks. Hyper coffee connoisseurs are coughing up $600 for a pound of the world's priciest coffee, a blend plucked from the droppings of a civet, a small Indonesian mammal that forages for fresh coffee beans. Fans describe the taste of kopi luwak as earthy, with a note of...

14 Stories